Alabama Baseball Explodes for 12 Runs in Win Over ULL
The No. 21 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide exploded for season-highs with 12 runs and 21 hits in a 12-6 victory on Sunday over the 10th-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns from Tigue Moore field. The Tide (5-5) won the series finale after dropping the first two games of the series, 2-0 and 6-0.
After producing 10 combined hits in the first two games of the series, every player in the Alabama starting lineup had at least one hit, with eight of the nine players producing two or more hits in the game.
First baseman Austen Smith led the way with a four-hit performance, going 4-for-5 with a double, three singles and four RBI. Kyle Overstreet and Will Haynie had three hits each, as Overstreet was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI and Haynie was 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Ben Moore was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Jon Keller (3-0) came out of the bullpen to throw the final 6.2 innings to earn his third win of the season. Keller allowed two earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Ragin Cajuns (10-2) starting pitcher Greg Milhorn (2-1) took the loss after allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits in 2.1 innings.
After Alabama went 22 innings without scoring a run, the Tide exploded for seven runs on 10 hits in the first three innings of Sunday’s game. The Tide opened the game with three runs in the first, before scoring four times in the third.
In the opening frame, Alabama got a one-out RBI single by Moore for the first run of the game then with two outs, Overstreet delivered an RBI double before Smith’s RBI single game the Tide a quick 3-0 lead. The Tide batted around in the third inning, scoring four runs on five hits to extend its lead to 7-0. UA got an RBI double by Smith to score Wade Wass, before getting RBI singles by Ryan Blanchard, Chance Vincent and Georgie Salem.
After Alabama starting pitcher Ray Castillo retired the first six batters of the game, the Ragin Cajuns answered with a four-run third inning. ULL scored its first run on an RBI double by Caleb Adams, and then after Castillo hit Jace Conrad to load the bases, he walked Blake Trahan to push across the second run. Seth Harrison delivered a two-RBI single to make the score 7-4, causing Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard to make a pitching change after 2.1 innings. Keller entered the game and got Michael Strentz to ground into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
UL-Lafayette got another run in the fifth inning on a two-out RBI single by Harrison to get within two (7-5), but in their next at-bat, Alabama got the run back on a sacrifice fly by Smith for an 8-5 lead.
After the Cajuns scored another run in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Ryan Leonard, Alabama answered again with a RBI single by Moore in the seventh to extend its lead to 9-6.
The Tide added a run in the eighth on a Vincent RBI single, then they capped the day by scoring two more runs in the top of the ninth on an RBI double by Wass and another RBI single by Smith, for his fourth RBI of the game.
Alabama returns to the diamond on Tuesday night when it takes on the Auburn Tigers in the MAX Capital City Classic. First pitch for the annual game is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT from Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala.
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